The wifes rig.

[Bones]

So here's the wheeler I built for the wife. Tho she has only wheeled it twice so far as we had a baby last spring and she hasn't been able to come out wheeling till this spring. I took her bone stock 86 Bronco II Eddie Bauer Edition and stripped out all the bad stuff and swapped in a bunch of better stuff. We purchased a rusted out 92 exploder and I swapped everything from it into the Bronc. 4.0L in place of the anemic 2.9L, 5 speed/1354 manual sift, 31 spline 8.8 rear LS-soon to be Lincoln locked, large u-joint D35 ttb (need to drill and weld a drain plug) in place of the pewny D28, complete wiring harness including computer, complete exploder dash and steering column, actually the only stock Bronco II parts left are the body, frame, gas tank and the interior panels, the rest is 92 exploder. I finished the build the winter before last and have been daily driving/weekend warrior-ing it ever since. For suspension I used the exploder springs front and rear which gave it about a 3" lift, then I added a 3" body lift and some coil spacers up front and blocks out back to net about 8" of over all lift. Then I trimmed the fenders for tire clearance too and yes they still rub a lil. All this lift just to "almost" clear the 35x12.5x15" TSL's, which are mounted on the stock Bronco II 15x6 Eddie Bauer alloys. I have never really been a Ford guy(sorry guys, no offence), having built jeeps, Toys, Chev's, IH's, Dodges and a few other imports here and there. But this little rig surprises me almost every time out, on how good of a wheeler it is and it even impresses guys with much more extreme rigs, and all this with very little flex and bald swampers. I will admit it has some to do with the driver too. Plans are to throw an HP D44 and 9" from a 78 Bronco fullsize next winter. The new rubber comes in this June too. I'm building sliders and bumpers right now, then I can mount my "Costco special" 10,000lbs winch, lol. After which I'll build a roof rack and swing out tire carrier.

Here she is in stock trim, wheeling.


Here's the after mods shots.

[Nobody]

Thanks for sharing. Looks like you wheel the hell out of it

[Bones]

LOL, not really, I try to play nice with the Bronco, as it is the wifes rig after all, lol. I don't go on anywhere near as hard core runs with it as I have done with the other wheeler, my Rover.

[Bones]

Here's what I have been up to lately.

Project Full width axle swap with a slight vehicle make-over.

I picked up a 76 F100 HP D44, completely rebuilt it, added 4.88's and a spool. Built the front suspension in a panhard/wristed Rad arm w/Johnny Joints type set-up, and sat her down on some 07 2dr Wrangler JK front springs.



I also picked up an 80 F150 BB 9" rear, completely rebuilt it and added 4.88's and a spool. Rear suspension is 63" 92 Explorer leaf springs sitting on 2" blocks. Over all lift height is roughly 6" over stock Bii ride height as she sits now and pictured height is a couple inches higher than what I wanted so I lowered it a bit since that day. All in all I gained 8 inches of axle width and 5-6 inches of ride height over stock. All this was in the hopes of keeping stability at the top of its performance. I also plan to tub the rear wheel wells and modify the front fenders for added compression travel and eventually buy some 38" TSL's.



Installed the winch, relocated the turn signals, started on the front bumper, sliders, and rear bumper/swing out tire carrier.
I have also built a snorkel, relocated the ECM up behind the glove box in a sealed plastic conduit case.

[Ruffinit]

I like the turn signal relocate. It looks like a Fairmont grill that way...

[Bones]

Oh really? Too cool!

Yeah it just made sence to move them to the grill after I removed the tin piece that orrigionally held the signals in place. I have had a few compliments on the relocation.

Thanks!
Bones

[Bones]

Well it's been a while since an update, so here goes.

While I haven't had her out on the trail or road as of yet, I have been playing around in the yard trying to find a spot that will actually flex out the suspension so I can measure for shocks all around.

Sold the 44 and 9" I rebuilt last winter and picked up another used set, this set will get 5.38/5.42 gears. I have already rebuilt the diffs mostly aside from the gears and carrier bearings in both. The front is a 76 f100 hp d44 again and the rear is out of an 81 1/2 ton 4wd, so it's a big bearing 31 spline 9". I slapped some cheap Yukon mini spools in both diffs for now.

I'm in the process of building drive shafts myself, as well as bumpers and sliders, then I need to finish off plumbing the new hard lines for the brakes.

Oh and I picked up a set of 38" tsl's with less than 100kms on them, so an anti wrap bar is in the works too, this time around I want to use an old radius arm from a 70's era ford for my anti wrap, hook it to a heim and shackle at the frame mount and solid mount it to the axle housing or 3rd member bolts.

I slapped a quick rear drive shaft together to test flex it. It has been replaced with a CV shaft and front tcase flange from the front of a 92 Explorer and as soon as I can find a coarse spline slip yoke that has the correct ujoint for the 9" it will be slapped in and it's onto building a front shaft.

Ah well , here's some pics as of late.

Damn I love the look of Swampers!!




Turns out my 'RTI' ditch isn't so RTI any more. The old TTB would let a tire lift off the ground before I could go far in my ditch, now it's not a deep enough ditch for that so I need to find another spot to flex and measure for shocks.



GOT RUB? I Do!






Differential Ground Clearance Measuring Device!



Since I have been so used to having front and rear locked wheeling this thing with the LS rear and open front has been frustrating to say the least, dang thing won't climb up onto much with an open front end, so this rig also gets the front locked now, and it's about time I tell ya. lol.

I might very well need hydro assist and chromoly axles now that I have it fully locked on 38's but hey, it's all good!

All rebuilt and ready for the tires to go back on. The front got new ball joints, wheel and torrington bearings, all seals, ujoints, rotors, calipers, pads, stainless braided brake lines, wheel studs and nuts, Yukon mini spool, as well as a thorough cleaning and coat of paint. Gears and bearings will come over the winter, I will be wheeling it with the 3.50's it has for now. It will be a dawg but gears are expensive and saving is slow.



Here is how she sits as of this morning.



The rear diff got a Yukon mini spool, axle bearings, seals, wheel cyls, shoes, hardware kit, drums, wheel studs and nuts, stainless hard lines for the brakes as well as extended braided flex line and a matching paint job to the last rear end I had under there.

So onto the next part of the build. Front bumper gets some attention today.

There you have it.

What do you guys think?

[Bones]

I cut down a receiver hitch and welded it between the front frame rails, flush to the bottom of the winch plate. This will be the extraction point for the front. So after cutting some more 2x2 to close in the front bumper, I decided to pull out my "KINK-MASTER 24,000" and kink up a front grill guard. It's not complete, the ends aren't coped yet and it's only lightly tacked in place, but it gives an idea of what I am after for the look of this rig anyways. Not sure if it takes away from the BII's factory styling or gives it the mean look I was after while complimenting the original Ford look..














What do you guys think of the grill guard I slapped together??

[joeyy]

Damn, my eddie bauer rig is nothing like that, wow awesome job on it

[Bones]

Thanks!!

I have finally got to the point of going for a road test this weekend, WHAA HOOO!!!

[BigcatSam]

teach me your ways master. ... I am new to building 4x4 , lifted, offroad trucks, but that is exactly how envisioned my new 89' bronco II I just got. I was wanting a wider wheel stance like that. that build is totally sick. thanks for all the details! -Sam